Heroes Heir
by JMD-009
Summary: Two of the world's greatest heroes have a son. Too bad they have no idea. Xander's life just got a whole lot more complicated.
1. The Players

Disclaimer: I'm poor. I own nothing.

**The Players**

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**Main Cast**

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Alexander Harris  
Affiliation: Scooby Gang, Watcher's Council

Clark Kent, aka, Superman  
Affiliation: Justice League

Diana of Themyscira, aka, Wonder Woman  
Affiliation: Amazons, Justice League

Mary Batson, aka, Mary Marvel

Age: Late teens as Mary Batson, appears mid-twenties as Mary Marvel  
Affiliation: None; Formerly Marvel Family

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**Supporting Cast**

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**Justice League of America**

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Bruce Wayne, aka, Batman

Roy Harper, aka, Red Arrow, aka, Arsenal

Dinah Lance, aka, Black Canary

Mari McCabe, aka, Vixen

Kendra Saunders, aka, Hawkgirl

John Smith, aka, Red Tornado

Jefferson Pierce, aka, Black Lightning

Wally West, aka, Flash

Hal Jordon, aka, Green Lantern

Jason Rusch, aka, Firestorm

Zatanna Zatara

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**Watchers Council**

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Buffy Summers

Dawn Summers

Rupert Giles

Willow Rosenberg

Faith Lehane

Andrew Wells

Robin Wood

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**Villains**

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Eclipso, aka, Wrath of God  
Affiliation: none

Cloaked Woman  
Affiliation: Eclipso


	2. Prologue

Disclaimer: I'm poor. I own nothing.

Notes:  
I didn't plan on writing this, I even said I wouldn't yet here it is. I (surprisingly) got so many comments and emails about the ficlet that it got me  
thinking. Always a dangerous thing. Then a plot began to form in my mind and beg to be written. I have to admit, it's been fun to write so far.

Notes 2:  
Takes place post 'Chosen' for Buffy.  
Takes place post 'Countdown to Final Crisis' and Pre 'Final Crisis' for DC.  
I haven't read much in the DCU after 'Infinity Crisis' so it's going to be fairly AU after that point. Some things will still happen though. For instance  
I have read 'Countdown' and enjoyed it and incorporated it into the story as Mary's presence will suggest. It should be clear what's kept and thrown away as the story goes on.

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**Prologue**

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There was no blinding flash of light, no thunderous crack, no fanfare at all to mark the departure of the two heroes that would be sung of in the halls of Asgard for ages to come. They were simply there one moment and gone the next.

A smile came unbidden to Thor's face as he remembered the poetry of motion and skill displayed by the Amazon, and the strength and compassion found in the Kryptonian.

A thousand years of war against some of Asgard's most terrible enemies had changed them little. It had hardened them some certainly, but they never once lost themselves in the bloodshed. Thor could honestly say he liked and respected the heroes.

It made what he had just done all the greater a burden to bear.

"Father?" Magni questioned as he came to stand at Thor's side.

"I had a vision as Odin brought me back to life," Thor said as he turned to his son. "A great Crisis befell Midgard long ago. Sometime after Kal-El and Lady Diana joined us here. A Crisis that would have repercussions through all realms of time and space. Even Asgard would not be spared. Given enough time the devastation would reach all the Godly realms."

"As grave as such a matter may be father, that was not my question," Magni told him, gesturing to the infant sleeping soundly in Thor's massive arms.

Thor smiled down at the baby and adjusted its blanket as he answered his son. "They had to return to the moment they left just as they were, that much I saw with certainty. Their memories changed to those in which they did not find comfort and happiness in each other's arms. To that which a vow never to take even a demonic life was never broken. To that which the choice to return was their own. To fulfill their necessary task it must be as if they never made the journey to Asgard."

"And their son? Shall he be raised as one of us?"

"No," Thor said simply. "He shall be sent to Midgard like his parents."

"What?" Magni exclaimed, clearly shocked by this decision. "The boy is the child of two of Midgard's most powerful warriors. Such inherent power, even in infancy, would easily be traced by those who would use such power for their own ends."

"His power shall be bound and the Hellmouth shall cover any lingering trace."

"Hellmouth?!" Magni spat outraged. "You sentence the boy to death father!"

"Nay," Thor countered while smirking at his son. "For this child has a destiny as well."

With all the fanfare that was missing from his parents, the infant boy was surrounded in a blinding light and, with a thunderous crack, was gone.

Thor closed his eyes and spoke softly. "I bid thee to grow strong and brave young Alexander, Protector of Man."


	3. Chapter 1: Ritual

Disclaimer: I'm poor. I own nothing.

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**Chapter 1: Ritual**

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Diana woke with a start. Her chest heaved as she gasped and she took several deep, steadying breaths to try and get her heart back under control. She felt a wetness on her cheeks and swiped her palms across them to wipe away the tears she knew were there.

After she collected herself Diana threw off the covers and stepped onto the cold floor. There would be no more sleep this night.

It had been like this for a week now. The dreams haunted her every time she closed her eyes. The lack of sleep was beginning to wear her down, but that wasn't the worst part. No matter how hard she tried Diana could not remember a single image from the dreams. No sight, no sound, not even a smell; no sensation at all remained.

The only thing she was left with in her waking hours was profound feeling of loss she couldn't explain; a pain more intense than any she had ever experienced before.

Diana made her way over to her dresser and leaned heavily on hard wooden surface as she watched her reflection in the mirror.

This time the dream was different. There was still no memory left behind, but as she stared into her own bloodshot eyes a single word came unbidden to her lips. "Alexander."

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She had felt it for months now. Ever since the most active Hellmouth was destroyed and took the town above with it. A new power was born that day. Unleashed, or perhaps unsealed.

It took time to track it down; a little side project that took time away from her other goals, but it had been so worth it in the end. There was much potential in this one. A half Kryptonian body with the blessings of the Mini-Gods? Ohhhh what it could do with that!

The worst part of it had been the waiting. Whatever had been hiding its existence hadn't been undone all at once. More along the lines of cracked. As the cracks grew, more and more of the beings true strength came through. Now the wall was so damaged it was ready to crumble. Or be blown apart. It was ready to become its newest host.

Sure the previous host had been willing, and it angered and disappointed her that it would not accept it once more, but an opportunity like this doesn't come along every day. It was simply too great to pass up. This being was going to be hers.

Yes, a new Power was awakening, and she shivered in anticipation.

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It was midday when Xander Harris left his tent. He raised his hand to shield his remaining eye from the afternoon sun and took a long pull from his canteen.

After six months of searching the African continent for Slayers Xander had been ready to head back to London for a much needed break. In fact, he had been in a bar waiting for the bus that would take him to the airfield when he first heard the rumour. Scattered stories coming out of a remote region about a young girl with the speed of a cheetah and the strength of a lion.

A slayer.

Xander had questioned the men he overheard and had a map out planning his route before he realised what he was doing. He shrugged it off though. After six months what's a few more weeks, right?

It wasn't until he reached the village that Xander began to think that maybe he should have gotten on that plane after all. Apparently the village wasn't overly fond of visitors. The weapons they pointed his way were something of a hint to that.

Then something weird happened.

The local shaman made his way through the armed and hostile crowd that had formed around Xander. The elderly man was small and thin and Xander towered over the man by well over a foot. Then, with shocking speed, the Shaman reached up and tightly grasped Xander's chin and roughly pulled him to eye level. For long minutes the man just stared deeply into his eyes and Xander had never felt so exposed. It was like someone was peering straight into his soul and judging his worth.

Then, slowly, a wide smile formed on the Shaman's face. Xander wasn't sure who was more surprised, the villagers or himself, when the Shaman bade him welcome. It was hard for him to suppress a shudder when the Shaman called him 'The One Who Sees' before going on to say that 'The Light of the Gods' would always be welcome in their village.

Xander still wasn't sure what that meant. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he translated it correctly. He was no linguist; just learning what he could out of necessity.

"Xan-Dar!" a voice called out, pulling him from his thoughts.

He turned to see a young girl making her way down a hill towards him. Though the Shaman's words made sure no harm would come to him, Xander could tell he still was not going to be all that welcome in the village. Not wanting to cause any trouble Xander made his camp a little ways off. Close enough to train his Slayer, but far enough away to be out of sight and out of mind.

"Alba," he said in greeting when she was closer. When he had found out what her name meant he spent a good while chuckling to himself. Wild rose. If there was a more fitting name for a Slayer Xander couldn't think of it.

After she stopped a few feet in front of him Xander spoke in her native tongue, "Good butterfly, Alba."

From the way she was giggling that didn't come out as he planned. He was proven right when she replied, "Good morning Xander."

Xander bit back a groan at the subtle emphasis on 'morning'. How did he make that mistake? The words weren't even similar and he had used the simple greeting before. He blamed lack of sleep and his only just learning the language as the cause. At least when it came to the Shaman and Alba's family he got points for trying to learn their language. Even if he did butcher it.

"Afternoon really," she added and Xander hid a wince. Normally he had her up and training before the sun had even thought about rising.

"You deserve break," Xander told her slowly, carefully thinking about the words he was using. "Three demons last night. Good work."

Xander could see the teenage girl's chest swell with pride and he smiled. The three demons had been tough and Alba had done well taking them down. There was still room for improvement, but for only a few weeks training she was doing amazing.

Too bad his reason for her break had been total crap.

It was the forth demon Alba hadn't seen that kept him up, just laying there thinking, all last night and all morning. Or, more accurately, what he had done to that unseen demon.

Something had felt off to him for months now. Ever since Sunnydale collapsed really. It was barely noticeable at first. Something he could write off as his imagination even. That changed over the last few days. He couldn't ignore this anymore.

"Training," Xander said simply as he led Alba to a small clearing next to his camp.

The Slayer dropped into a fighting stance, loose and fluid. Xander was no expert on martial arts, but even he could see the stance was flawless. Not to mention perfect for the quick and graceful strikes the teenager preferred.

As Xander dropped into his own stance, one more closely resembling a boxer, he came to a decision. He would have to call home for help. A normal man shouldn't be able to match the strength and speed of a Slayer.

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Diana sat at the large table in The Watchtower's briefing room. She wasn't alone, though she may as well have been. Lost in her on little world she was not going to be great conversation to anyone. Fatigue wore at her body while thoughts of her intense, unremembered dreams plagued her mind.

It was half an hour until the League's general meeting but she just needed to be somewhere other than home. She though a change of scenery may help her focus. It didn't.

Black Canary was there, but she seemed to sense Diana wasn't up for small talk and left her be. Instead Dinah went over everything they needed to sort through to make sure the meeting went smoothly.

Diana was grateful for that.

She barely noticed when the door opened and someone else walked in. Only half paying attention as they exchanged greetings with Dinah.

"You look like hell Clark," she heard Dinah say, obviously to the newly arrived Superman.

"Hi Dinah. I'm doing fine, thanks. And you? Great."

"Are you alright?" Dinah asked the uncharacteristically snippy Superman.

Clark sighed. "Sorry, I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping well. I've been having the strangest dreams lately. At least I think they are."

Now that got Diana's attention.

"You think they are?" Dinah questioned.

"I don't remember-" Clark said before he stopped and sighed again. "It's nothing. They're only dreams."

"Do not dismiss dreams. They can be portents to what is or could be." The three heroes turned to see a man in a white turtleneck and dark dress pants floating above the floor. He wore a blue cloak held together by a large gold chain and a matching fedora on his head.

"Stranger?" Superman said. "What are you doing here?"

"A new power has awoken. Young and unknown, even unto itself. Darkness seeks it for its own, but the 'Light of the Gods' must not fall."

The man waved his hands and a fold out map appeared on the table, a single burned dot marred its surface. Then he swept his white eyes between Clark and Diana.

"Go to Africa and perhaps you will unravel your dreams as well."

With that, The Phantom Stranger, faded away.

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"What do you mean 'he's not here'?" Xander asked, speaking into the satphone. The sun had set hours ago, but over in London it was around dinnertime.

"A date? Really?" Xander said with a grin. "Go G-Man!"

He shook his head. "No, its fine. I'll try again tomorrow."

He rolled his eye. "I'm sure you could but I'll wait for Giles."

Taking the phone away from his ear as the person on the other end kept arguing, Xander closed his eye and took a deep breath. After he opened his eye he brought the phone back up.

"Look, Kennedy," he interrupted. "It's important, but it's also personal. Tell Giles I'll call him tomorrow."

He hung up before she could get another word in.

"I've yet to figure out what Willow sees in her," he said to nobody in particular.

Xander stood and made his way to where he stored his weapons. It was night but still early by his standards. There was still time to take Alba for a quick patrol.

He had barely left his camp when he heard it, a slight rustling in the wind that had nothing to do with the local wildlife. It was on pure instinct that he flung himself to the ground.

A ball of crackling purple energy flew through the air he had just been in and impacted a few feet in front of him. Dirt and grass exploded outward, showering him.

Xander rolled onto his back, pulling a weapon as he did. He wasn't going to limit himself with Buffy's dislike for guns. He emptied the entire clip of his pistol into the creature in front of him.

Unfortunately the long, billowing hooded black cloak completely hid the figure inside. It made it hard enough to hit even without it blending into the black of night. If any of his shots connected the thing didn't care.

The cloaked thing was moving in fast, there was no way he could get away in time. Xander did the only thing he could think of. From his position on the ground Xander surged upwards, a knife in hand, and aimed at what he hoped was the thing's heart.

He would keep on wondering as the cloaked figure twisted away and gripped the hand holding the knife. At the same time its other hand came within inches of his face. Xander saw it glow purple.

Then there was pain.

Then only darkness.

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When Xander came to he noticed something. Well, two somethings actually.

First was that he hurt. A lot. Nothing new there really.

The second was that he was bound to the ground with heavy metal chains emblazed with strange runes. Unfortunately, nothing new there either. He had his fair share of pain and chains back in good old Sunnyhell.

He tested his bonds, not really expecting much, but he would feel rather silly to have just lain there if he could have just slipped out of them. It would have been a nice surprise really and he did get one, just not what he was hoping for.

"Ahhrrggg!" The second he pulled on them a shock of energy ran through his body. It felt like his blood was on fire. After what seemed like an eternity the pain subsided and he was left wide-eyed and breathing heavily. "Okay, not doing that again."

"You're awake," a decidedly female voice said and Xander turned his head to see the cloaked figure putting the finishing touches on the large arcane symbols painted on the ground around him. She stood and made her way towards him, the hood still hiding her face even when she stood directly in front of him in the moonlight. "Good."

"Is this the part where I beg for my life? I'm not above it you know."

She ignored him as she bent down and tore his shirt open.

"Wow! Wow! Getting a little fresh there lady?! We just met!" Xander exclaimed and tried to squirm away. All he got for his trouble was another blood boiling shock. As he recovered he spoke in exasperation. "Why do they always want to mate with me?"

"I have no desire to use your body for pleasure," the cloaked woman told him as she drew more symbols, this time on his naked chest. "I have other designs for it."

"Well that doesn't sound good at all."

"You have no idea the power you possess do you?" she asked rhetorically. "No, I suppose you wouldn't. You are only just awakening. Now the seals shall be broken and your body will belong to my Master."

"Master?"

"Eclipso, The Wrath of God. He shall return through you and the world will tremble!"

"Now I really don't like the sound of that."

"Silence!" she spat and pulled a palm sized diamond out of her cloak. It was the deepest black Xander had ever seen, almost as if swallowed, or perhaps repelled, the light around it. She placed the diamond in the centre of the symbols on his chest. "Normally the Black Diamond alone would be enough for a possession, but this is a special case. Under some circumstances Lord Eclipso can be ejected from his host. With this ritual nothing can separate you, only death."

Then the woman began to chant in some language Xander couldn't even begin to identify and the diamond started to glow an eerie purple. Then his world erupted in a pain far beyond anything the chains had provided.

Yet even through the pain he was somehow aware of everything around him.

Over the increasing volume of the cloaked woman's chanting and his own screams another sound rang through the night. There was a sharp snap just before the broken pieces of an arrow hit the ground.

"Well damn," a red clad archer Xander recognized as the Justice Leaguer called Red Arrow swore. "There's some sort of force field."

Then there was a blur of activity as he, along with Superman, Wonder Woman, Black Canary, and Batman threw everything they had at the barrier. A part of his rapidly fading awareness wondered why most of the Justice League was here. Another part was simply glad they were.

Absently he thought he heard Batman say something about hating magic and calling someone named Zatanna right before a black blur took form in front of the magic field.

A young woman stood glaring at the cloaked woman. Her costume was tight black from one hand to the other, coming down in one seamless piece ending in a skirt that barely covered the essentials. A yellow lightning bolt adorned her chest, which was fitting from the magic energies that danced around her like living lightning.

"Eclipso!" she yelled as she brought her fists up in a double-handed grip. "After how you used me did you really think I'd let you come back!?"

Her fists came down hard enough to send out a shockwave that shook the nearby trees. The magical shield didn't even waver. That didn't stop her however, and she let loose with barrage of strikes at the barrier.

Xander heard Red Arrow ask, "Is that Mary Marvel?"

"Looks like her," came the reply from Black Canary.

"She's a little less… perky than I remember." Red Arrow winced Mary as took to the air, her body crackling with mystic power, and charged at the field. "And angrier."

Mary hit the barrier with a thunderous boom, and ricocheted off into the dirt. Glowing purple cracks appeared in midair, a marked weakening of the otherwise invisible shield. Mary stood with a satisfied smirk on her face.

The cloaked woman stopped chanting and turned to the interloper. If one could see her face Xander imagined it would be covered in shock. "No," she spat.

"Oh yes!" Mary said as the mystic energy around her gathered in her palms. She thrust her hands out and sent a blast of power into the field. Xander's world was filled with white. He would probably be in a great deal of pain if he weren't already writhing in agony.

When the light was gone so was the pain, replaced by a glorious numbness. Through blurred vision Xander saw the scowl on Mary Marvel's face and the absence of the cloaked woman, but that didn't matter. The only thing he cared about was the absence of pain and the merciful darkness pulling him under.

As awareness finally left him Xander could have sworn he heard Wonder Woman call his name.


	4. Chapter 2: Mysterious Stranger

Disclaimer: I'm poor. I own nothing.

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**Chapter 2: Mysterious Stranger**

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Most of the League sat around the briefing table. They talked and theorized about the young man in The Hall's med bay. Normally Diana would be in the thick of the conversation, but not tonight. She answered any question sent her way, but kept to herself for the most part. Her mind was elsewhere.

It hadn't taken them long after the Phantom Stranger's visit to get a team together and get mobile. Having a map to tell them exactly where they were needed was handy, but once they were close to their destination they hadn't needed it anymore. All they had to do was follow the screams.

Diana had heard soul retching, agonized screams before, but none had ever chilled her to the core like this one had. When she saw the cloaked woman torturing that young man, who was so familiar to her yet still a stranger, Diana was nearly blinded by rage. If she hadn't been so well trained she may have been.

The anger had quickly given way to something else. When it became clear they couldn't break through the magic barrier a sensation of utter terror settled in the pit of her stomach. Like she was about to lose something she didn't know was important to her.

When Mary Marvel had arrived she gave the signal to back off. She knew what the girl could do with her new powers. The girl had held her own against most of the League when Darkseid made his bid for the powers of the New Gods.

And, there was a part of her that hoped Mary would succeed where they hadn't.

It wasn't long before Mary had proven her hopes well placed and the barrier shattered. When the light faded the cloaked woman and the black diamond were gone. Mary flew off in a huff without so much as a backwards glance.

The young man lay on the ground alone, silent and still. Diana remembered the relief she felt when she saw the steady rise and fall of his chest. Then her lips had seemed to move of their own accord and that same name from early that morning passed through them: Alexander.

Imagine her surprise when they checked his id and found out that really was his name.

Who was he? Why did she feel like she knew him? Why did he invoke such strong emotions in her? These questions kept going over and over in her mind.

As the door to the meeting room opened she thought she might get some answers, or at least a start to them.

It wasn't until Batman took his seat near Superman that she realized that she wasn't the only one being strangely quiet. Then Diana remembered his own admission of strange dreams. She'd have to talk to Clark about that later.

"How is he?" Black Canary asked.

"Physically he's fine," Batman told them. "Given Eclipso's involvement Zatanna is checking over metaphysically as well."

"Do we know why Eclipso wants this kid so bad?" Red Arrow asked.

"Kid?" Green Lantern said with an amused lift of an eyebrow. "He doesn't look all that much younger than you, _kid_."

"So far we've come up with nothing concrete," Black Lightning pointed out. "What about the blood tests? Did they come up with anything?" Jefferson asked turning to Batman.

"The computer is still running it."

"Who is he exactly?" Diana spoke up on her own for the first time since the meeting started.

Dinah looked over at the holographic representation of Red Tornado in the chair across from her. "Reddy?" she asked.

John Smith had a rough time of late. He just comes back to life in a new human body when Amazo goes on a rampage in his old android one. John gave his one chance at a human existence to stop Solomon Grundy, who planned on using the android body as armour, and ended up back in his old body. Then, to top things off, that body was totalled in the battle with the Injustice League and now he's stuck in the League's computer system; at least until his new body was finished.

He seemed to be adjusting well enough, though his wife and daughter likely had a great deal to do with that. His family refused to give up on him and loved him no matter what form he took. John was more than a machine to them and Diana was glad for him. Family was about connection more than just blood.

After a moment a holographic image of a dark haired young man with an eye patch appeared, life-sized, in the empty area the table circled. In the air next to him statistics and information appeared. The image slowly rotated to give everyone a complete view.

"Alexander Lavelle Harris. Age: Twenty-three. Place of birth: Sunnydale, California. Occupation: former construction foreman, currently doing aid work in Africa for a non-profit organization."

"He seems so familiar," Superman said absently, his eyes transfixed on the hologram. "It's like I know him from somewhere, or, at least I should."

Wonder Woman looked over at him. "Yes, that's exactly how it is with me as well."

"Someone you both helped out before maybe?" Dinah offered.

"I don't know. Maybe." He didn't sound remotely convinced and turned to Diana, who shook her head.

"I don't know either."

"Well," Jefferson said. "I can't speak of the kid, but I know I've heard of Sunnydale before."

Batman nodded. "The entire town was swallowed by a sinkhole."

"That's right. I remember that," Clark said, happy to at least be able to place something. "I did a flyby looking for survivors, but most of the townspeople had apparently evacuated in the days leading up to the collapse. They said they had a bad feeling and had to get out."

"Is that how he lost the eye?" Hawkgirl asked.

"No, that happened shortly beforehand," Batman told them. "Official report puts it as a work related accident."

Superman looked at him levelly. "But you don't believe that." It wasn't a question.

"Examination of the wound and surrounding bone structure would suggest the involvement of a person of above average, perhaps metahuman level, strength." He gave the others a grim look. "At best guess it was gouged out with a thumb."

A collective wince of sympathy went around the table. Batman's eyes stayed on the personal terminal at his seat. When he spoke next Diana could have sworn there was a note of respect in his voice, but she could have imagined it. "According to his medical records, Alexander refused anything but the bare minimum for the pain and checked himself out a few days later against medical advice."

"Well yah," Roy said from where he sat next to Kendra. "If somebody just shoved his thumb through my eye and may be coming back for the other one, I'd be hesitant to be doped up too."

"I'm more interested in," Canary added before the meeting could get off track. Diana remembered what it was like to chair the League and didn't envy Dinah's position. Sometimes it was a job unto itself just to keep the meetings going smoothly so they could accomplish everything. "What he was involved in that someone would want to take his eye out, not to mention why Eclipso would want to bond with someone with a disability."

"His name appears in disturbing number of police reports," Batman informed them. "Most concerning confrontations with gang members on PCP."

Zatanna snorted as she walked through the door, drawing everyone's attention. "Gang on PCP is a common euphemism in official reports. Usually for vampires, but occasionally for various demons as well."

She almost seemed to sense the raised eyebrow hidden by Bruce's cowl and smirked at him. "Gotham PD tends to just write demon and be done with it. Not every department is so jaded.

"Anyways, given those reports and some telltale scars, I'd say your boy's a demon hunter." Zatanna sat down, "Let me guess, you found some sort of medieval weaponry in his camp. Sword, dagger, axe, crossbow, that sort of thing."

"All of the above."

"Demon hunter," Zatanna said with a grin and a wave at the hologram. She flinched when she saw his hometown displayed before her. "Definitely a demon hunter."

"What do you mean?"

"Sunnydale was built on a Hellmouth." She held up a hand to stop any comment and answered the unasked question. "Yes, it's exactly like it sounds. A Hellmouth is a portal straight to Hell, or hell dimension depending on how you prefer to look at it. Even closed they radiate dark energy like you wouldn't believe."

"They?" Hal asked.

Zatanna nodded. "Sunnydale's was by far the most potent, but there are others. I hear there's one in Cleveland. Most mystics avoid them like the plague though."

"Why's that?" Clark asked. "It sounds like the kind of place you would be needed most."

"Because they're a corrupting influence, and the more powerful you are the more susceptible you are," she told them. "Someone of a power like, say, myself or Superman, to give a mystic and non-mystic example, wouldn't last all that long before the echoes, the whispers in the ear, drove us mad."

Black Lightning shook his head. "I can't believe that nobody would guard such dangerous portals."

"You're right. Most Hellmouths are too weak to be of any worry, barely a shadow of their former glory. Sunnydale was the epicentre of the danger and it had its own protectors. Though I've only heard some vague rumours, I'd bet my lucky top hat our boy is one of them."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I didn't' find any traces of Eclipso in him, but I did find trace remnants of several possessions and the bite and claw scars he's covered in look an awful lot like some demons species I know." Zatanna paused for a second then waved her hand absent minded. "Oh, and then there were the remains of a kickass binding spell hiding a load of power in him."

That got everyone's attention. "Binding spell?" Diana asked.

Zatanna nodded. "Yes, and a good one too. I'm not sure how powerful he really is, but he's probably up there."

"Wait," Firestorm said, a confused expression on his face. "If he's so strong then wouldn't he have been taken by the Hellmouth's influence years ago?"

"Not necessarily. With how tightly his powers were bound he would have been just like a normal human. Sure the influence would still be there, but nowhere near as strong as the whisper in the ear people with active power would get. It would just be like the devil on his shoulder speaking up a little more than for people away from the Hellmouth. It's not like the people of Sunnydale didn't still have choice, otherwise the entire town would be full of psychos."

Diana gave her a thoughtful look. "It sounds like an impressive binding."

"Yah," Zatanna agreed. "It's possible he even didn't know about it or his powers. He may have had the occasional flare up when things got tense, but, for all intents and purposes, he was just an ordinary guy. As ordinary as a guy who fights demons in his spare time can be anyway."

"Any idea who may have cast it?" Batman asked.

"This spell is incredibly complex. I've never seen one like it before. Some of the more powerful mystics could probably do it, but even then, probably not alone. It was likely… well…" Zatanna trailed off and looked at Diana. "I think it was done by a god."

Diana was shocked. Of all the possibilities floating around she had never considered that the one-eyed man would be touched by the Gods. "Do you know who-"

"No," Zatanna interrupted. "With how quickly the spell's signature is deteriorating I was lucky to get what I did."

"If I may interrupt," Red Tornado said. "The blood test are finished and you should hear the results."

"Go ahead Reddy," Dinah told him.

"Alexander appears to be half kryptonian and a genetic match of Superman," John started, trying to ignore the look of utter shock on Clark's face and get the next part out before the inevitable interruption. "Also, maternally he is a genetic match of Wonder Woman."

Of all the theories the League members had bounced around, that wasn't even on the list. Total silence descended over the meeting room. More than one head moved back and forth between the shocked faces of Clark and Diana.

"My God, the tabloids were right!" Firestorm blurted out suddenly. His hand covered his mouth and he blushed slightly as he realized what he just said.

That broke them out of their stupor and Superman and Wonder Woman started protesting rather strongly.

"No!"

"We've never-"

"I think I'd remember-"

"We're just friends!"

"Could he be another clone?" Black Lightning cut in.

"Possible," Batman said, already going over the data on a small terminal in front of him. "But no clone is perfect and I don't see the telltale signs. We'll have to take a closer look to be sure."

"That and the fact that the binding was likely put on him as a baby. As in, twenty three years ago." Zatanna added.

"And cloning technology was nowhere near as advanced back then."

"If he's not a clone, then what is he?" Hal asked.

Red Arrow started ticking off his fingers. "Time travel. Alternate reality. Magic-"

"We get the point," Black Canary told him with a stern look added for good measure.

"I'll dig up what I can on Harris," Batman started. "But if he wanted to create a new identity, choosing a hometown that sunk into the Earth and destroyed all the original records would be a good way to start."

"In the mean time," Dinah told them. "Someone should be with him when he wakes up, just in case. We'll take shifts-"

"I'll do it." Superman stood and was out the door before anyone could say another word.

Diana watched him go before she came to a decision and rose herself. "Excuse me."

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

Once the initial shock wore off Diana wasn't as troubled as she thought she should be. She had no idea how or why, but it didn't feel like a lie. In a deep down part of her she couldn't identify it felt like he was hers. She was always one to follow her instincts and with the involvement of gods Diana wasn't going to rule anything out just yet.

At the same time, she wasn't ready to believe yet either. She didn't know how to feel about all of this.

By the time she caught up with him, Superman was already at the Med Bay. He was just standing there, in front of the room they had put Alexander in. He stared at the door, or perhaps through it, with a thoughtful expression on his face. It wasn't often she saw Clark hesitate.

As she watched him Diana realized that maybe she wasn't the only one who didn't know how to feel.

How many times had Clark had relatives drop from the sky, sometimes literally, only to be disappointed in the end? For the connection not to be what he had hoped for? There was Power Girl, who for many years may or may not have been his cousin, but he opened his heart to her anyways. Kara, who, Diana knew from experience, he was fiercely protective of and he let in from the first moment he laid eyes on her, before her identity was confirmed.

Superboy was different than both of them. At first he believed Superboy to be a teenage clone of him. Rebellious, reckless, and in need of guidance summed him up well in the early days. Clark had cared for him from the beginning, but it took time before he really let him in. Even the strongest and most open of men would be a little uncomfortable with an exact copy of them running around. Still, eventually he did let Superboy in, giving him a kryptonian name, letting him know his own identity before giving the boy a human name and home, simply loving him.

Superboy had been nervous when it came out that he was made from half Superman and half Lex Luthor. He shouldn't have been. Clark's greatest strength had always been his heart. Once he loved Diana didn't know if he had it in him to stop.

Through everything though, Connor Kent had been more like a cousin or a little brother in Clark's eyes. It was the girl from a possible future that gave him hope. Cir-El, the daughter Clark could have with Lois Lane. She remembered how sad he looked as he just stared out at the stars for hours after Brainic's hand in her birth had been revealed.

Clark had once confided in her that, though kryptonians and humans were compatible, the odds of conceiving were very low, virtually nonexistent even. He said it would tear at his heart sometimes, when he saw a baby being doted on by a loving father and knowing he may never feel that joy.

There was adoption of course; his own parents couldn't have loved him more if he was their own flesh and blood, but there was still a part of him that wanted to hold his own newborn child in his arms and have the whole white picket fence, American dream. A part of him would always long for the day when Superman wasn't needed and he could just be Clark Kent: son, husband, and father.

But Superman _was_ needed and, baring a miracle, Clark and Lois were never going to have a child of their own. Adoption seemed like their best option and Clark had told her that he and Lois had been discussing it lately.

Diana ignored the little part of her that didn't like that idea. The part that had always cared for Clark a little more than she should.

Now the two of them stood quietly outside the door of another possible connection in his life, and Diana's not sure what would hurt him more, that Alexander was a fake or he was real and they never got the chance to see him grow.

It was only after several long minutes had passed that Diana placed a hand on Clark's shoulder. "Shall we go in?"

"I-" he hesitated for only a moment longer before he seemed to come to a decision. His back straightened and that inner strength he had whether he was crushing mountains or facing personal demons shone through. "Let's go."

The room was rather barren. A few chairs off to the side, a small bed, and some medical equipment barely filled the small room in metallic silver and stark whites. The steady rhythm of a heart monitor was the only noise beyond Alexander's own steady breath.

Diana studied his face as Clark brought two chairs over, trying to find anything familiar in his features. Maybe it was coincidence, maybe it was just that she was looking for it, but Diana could see a lot of the two of them in this Alexander Harris.

The hair was all Clark though. It even had that little curl in his bangs that persisted even after she brushed them out of his closed eyes. Eye. She had yet to see it, but Diana knew from the file at the briefing that it was brown and she wondered what she would see when she finally looked into it.

She barely noticed as Clark sat in the chair next to her. Neither spoke, they just watched the mysterious young man that had suddenly come into their lives.


	5. Chapter 3: Safer Places

Disclaimer: I'm poor. I own nothing.

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

**Chapter 3: Safer Places**

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

The steady beeping was starting to get on his nerves. At first Xander tried to pretend it didn't exist and curled himself deeper into the bed. That only lasted a few minutes before the beep suddenly seemed to spike in volume and he tried to will the noise away. When that didn't work he gave a sleepy snort and swung out with his right hand, hitting nothing but air.

Ok, that was odd. He usually kept his alarm to his right.

Still half asleep, Xander wasn't going to give up that easily. He just did the next logical thing. He threw out his left arm and grinned in triumph at the metallic crunch.

Then it him: his alarm clock was small, cheap, and plastic.

Xander's eye flew open. Shoulder: good start. Elbow: nothing to worry about. Wrist: so far so good. Hand: firmly embedded in a heart monitor. That can't be right.

"Good morning sunshine," came an amused voice and Xander followed it to see an equally amused looking Red Arrow smirking at him.

"Err, I'll pay for that."

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

He was standing by an observation window in the Watchtower satellite when Bruce found him. Clark ignored him and continued to stare forward. He had known Bruce was up here since he came through the Slideways, a literal doorway that connected the Watchtower with the Hall of Justice back on Earth. It was a rare occasion where Bruce didn't even try to conceal his presence, so Clark would just wait for him to say what he came to say.

In the meantime he would stare out at the stars and think. Clark was sure that the fact he was staring out in the direction Krypton used to be wasn't lost on Bruce.

Neither man looked at the other as Bruce came to stand beside him. Each simply watched the stars, seemingly lost in thought.

"You should rest," Bruce said after a long silence.

"I did," Clark shot back. "You're the one who brought Jefferson in to replace Diana and I, remember? Right now Roy is in there with him."

"I meant at home."

"There's been a lot to do. With the escapees from Checkmate's off-world prison that shouldn't have existed in the first place and J'onn's disappearance we've all been busy. Not to mention that Luthor has been far too quiet not to be up to something."

"And you're avoiding it," Bruce said, turning to look at him.

Clark nodded his agreement. "And I'm avoiding it."

"She'll find out eventually. Best if you tell her."

Yes, tell his wife that they found a boy who shared his DNA and that of the woman she feels the most threatened by. That would go over well. Still, Bruce was right.

"Don't suppose you'd like to be there. I could probably use a witness. Just in case."

"Not for all the first editions in your collection."

They shared a little smile, or at least as much of a smile as Bruce would allow himself and Clark was grateful for the slight break in the tension that had been building in him over the last few days. It wasn't all that long ago that Bruce wouldn't have made the effort to find him, let alone cheer him up, but the fallout of the Crisis and their respective sabbaticals from costumed life went a long way to repairing their friendship. In truth, it probably hadn't been this strong since the early days of the League.

"What does Diana think of all this," Bruce asked.

"You haven't talked to her?"

"Next."

Clark shook his head. "We never really talked about it. I think we're both still trying to sort everything out in our own heads right now." He sighed and turned back to the window thoughtfully. "Still, you should see her with him Bruce. For hours she would sit there still as a statue, then she would suddenly reach over and brush his hair from his face or hold his hand, and the gestures seemed so… maternal."

"And you?"

"Me?" Clark gave a little laugh. "I'm confused, I'm not sure what to believe or feel, and it's still taking all my willpower not to run back in that room just to make sure he's still there."

Bruce didn't comment on that, but Clark wasn't surprised. You don't have a deep conversation about your feelings with Batman. Instead he changed the subject somewhat. "I called his parents."

Clark didn't have to strain to hear the tone in his voice at the end there. "That bad?"

"They vaguely remembered a son in their drunken stupor."

Clark's eyes narrowed as the implications set in, even as Bruce pressed on.

"The woman who ran the orphanage in Sunndale twenty three years ago was more helpful. It seems Alexander was a strange case. One day he wasn't there and the next he was.

"As much as I hate to admit it, a person abandoning their child isn't unheard of."

"It is when the child appears in one of their bedrooms, crib and all."

Clark looked at him blinking confusedly. "That's, curious."

Bruce nodded. "Mystery aside for the moment, from what I have gathered so far it looks like he did grow up in Sunnydale. Given the technology available at the time, we can reasonably rule out cloning."

"Not to mention there wasn't a Superman or Wonder Woman flying around yet. At least not in the public eye. And Diana and I hadn't met yet either."

"I'll see what else I can dig up," Bruce told him as he looked back outside. "But we may have to wait for Zatanna and her circles for any real answers."

"Bruce?" There was no answer, just a slight incline of his head. "Thanks."

Bruce nodded once and turned back to the window. Clark did the same. Many minutes passed as both men stared at the stars in companionable silence. Then their comm. units both beeped followed shortly by a voice.

"He's awake," they heard Red Arrow say.

Clark was gone before Bruce had turned around.

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

This time she was the one standing in front of the door by the time Clark arrived. There was a whoosh of displaced air and he was beside her. They stood together for several minutes, but neither reached for the door. Eventually though, somebody had to be the one to give that little push.

Clark turned to her and spoke slowly, unsure. "So, ready?"

Diana gave humourless chuckle. "Does it matter?"

"I guess not."

"You know, when I heard he was awake I was running down the hall before I realized my feet were moving." Diana told him and saw Clark nod that he had done the same. "But when I got here I realized I had no idea what to say."

"I don't either."

"For now, don't tell him anything." They both turned to see Bruce coming towards them. He held up a hand and went on before they could say anything. "I'm not saying you shouldn't tell him, just wait and see what he knows, how he acts."

"I don't think-" Clark started but Bruce cut him off.

"If there is one thing you've never been clear-headed about it's family. I'm not interested in having the same arguments we did with Kara over again. All I'm asking is for you to wait a day."

Reluctantly Diana and Clark nodded. They may not like it, but they could see the logic in Bruce's argument.

"Let's go to the briefing room then. Zatanna told us he should wake up a little hungry, but otherwise unharmed. Red Arrow is bringing him there as soon as he's cleared."

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

Xander had changed from the drawstring sleep pants and undershirt he had woken up in to a pair of dark jeans, t-shirt, and combat boots he got from the bag tucked off to the side of the room. His pack, minus the weaponry.

As they neared the door to the briefing room Xander looked at the man walking beside him. Despite the initial akwardness when he first woke up, Xander found he like the red clad archer. He had an easygoing nature and sense of humour that made it hard not too. Plus he was one of the Leaguers that saved his life; that buys a guy some points.

"Ready?" Red Arrow asked with a hand on the door.

Xander cracked a lopsided grin. "Does it matter?"

"Want some advice?"

"Definitely."

"Don't let Batman intimidate you," Red Arrow told him cracking a grin of his own. "He's like that with everyone." Then he opened the door and let Xander go in first.

Xander walked into the room with a confident stride. His usual way of dealing with authority was to crack wise, but he had learnt, over the last couple years in particular, that sometimes the best way to handle it or take on the unknown was to act more confident and in control than you really were.

As he sat down Xander realized he wasn't as awed as he thought he would be. He supposed it made some sense that fighting beside his own personal hero for nearly eight years and helping save the world on a seemingly seasonal basis jaded him a little bit. Still, that only meant he had just enough sense left to talk in complete sentences and not ogle Hawkgirl. That mace looked like it would hurt.

"Good to see you up and about Alexander," Black Canary greeted him as Red Arrow took the empty seat beside her.

"Xander," he corrected automatically. "I go by Xander. And thanks. A three day nap is a little long, even for my lazy butt."

Black Canary nodded, a slight smile on her face before she grew serious again. "We wanted to talk to you about what happened."

"You mean Crazy Cloak Lady making with the painful ritual?

"Yes, that."

"Well, I never got a look at her face and everything was kinda vague and out of body like after the pain started," Xander said, absently scratching by his eye patch. "She did mention something about making me the permanent host for something called Eclipso."

"Permanent?" Batman asked. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, that's what she said anyway. Why?"

The League shared a look but it was Zatanna who turned to Xander. "Eclipso is said to have been God's Spirit of Wrath before it was basically fired. It has been a threat for a long while now. It can possess or corrupt many people at a time, but tends to have a main host. It has no qualms about using normal humans, but tends to also seek out powerful hosts for its own ends. I've never heard of Eclipso planning on a permanent bond though."

"Huh." Xander shook his head. "So why would he want me then?"

Black Lightning levelled a glance at him and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Could it have anything to do with your powers?"

"Powers?" Xander asked confused.

"You did do a good job of murdering that defenceless heart monitor," Red Arrow reminded him.

Xander looked sheepishly at him. "Oh, right. That. I don't know. Maybe."

"You don't sound convinced," Vixen pointed out.

"They're kind of a new development. I didn't even really know about them."

Superman leaned forward, resting crossed arms on the table. "What do you mean?"

"It started about six months ago, I think," Xander told them as he unconsciously adjusted his eye patch again as he thought. "I was getting a bit stronger, but it was barely noticeable and I'd been working out more so I just figure that was why. That changed about a week ago. I woke up and I was like twice as strong as the day before and getting stronger."

Several of the League members shared a look that seemed to communicate as much as he could with the gang. He may have wondered more about it but was too busy trying not to be unnerved by the assessing looks some of the other Leaguers were giving him.

"Any idea where they came from?" Wonder Woman asked him. As Xander met her eyes something clawed at the edges of his mind, a feeling of warmth and safety he couldn't quite place. His eyes moved over to Superman almost of their own accord and the same feeling flooded through him. He quickly put it out of his mind. It was Superman and Wonder Woman after all. If you couldn't feel safe with them who could you feel safe with?

Xander shook his head clear. "Ah, no, I don't. I was in the middle of nowhere, but I was going to try and figure things out when I got home."

"You don't seem all that disturbed by this," Batman noted.

A chuckle escaped his lips before Xander could stop it. "Oh, I am. Very disturbed even. I'm just used to the weird that's all."

"Yes, Zatanna said Sunnydale was some sort of supernatural hotspot and that she thought you were a demon hunter."

Xander stared blankly at Batman. He had thought the Justice League would have figured that out, it wasn't exactly a secret he was keeping in Africa and the weapons and books in his camp would have been a big hint, but he hadn't expected it to be thrown out there so bluntly.

"Yeah," Xander confirmed, regaining his composure quickly. "Going on eight years now."

Batman continued as if he hadn't spoken. "The non-profit organization you work for, The Anya Jenkins Foundation, is actually a front company for the Watchers Council."

"It's both actually," Xander corrected curtly as he locked a hard gaze with Batman. He wasn't going to let anyone, not even Batman, demean the good Anya's namesake had done. The rest of the League watched as this strange young man stared down the Dark Knight for a solid minute before they seemed to come to some sort of silent agreement. They nodded at each other and turned away at the same time.

Xander hadn't missed the look on Zatanna's face when Batman had mentioned the Watchers and turned to her. "By the grimace I take it you know the Council?"

"By… reputation."

"Ahh," Xander said knowingly. He really shouldn't be surprised that Zatanna knew about the Council, and most likely the Slayers too. After all, even he knew her by reputation. "The Old Watchers Council. Yeah, they were pretty much scum in my book too. It's under new management now."

"New management?"

"The Old Watchers and their potential Slayers were mostly killed off about a year ago by a being called The First."

Zatanna eyes widened. "As in The First Evil?" At Xander's nod she whistled and clarified for the others' benefit. "That's big league evil. We're talking, the very concept of evil given form, according to the old legends."

"The First opened the Hellmouth," Xander told her. "To make a long story short: The First was beaten, The Hellmouth was closed, the town sunk, and the world was saved. That last one is the one I like to focus on."

"Wow, I'm impressed."

"Ah this may be a dumb question," Firestorm put in. "But what's a Slayer."

"All right, I'm not going to do the full Slayer spiel 'cause I m not British and it sounds better coming from the British," Xander told him seriously. "A Slayer is a mystically enhanced teenage girl with the strength, speed, and stuff to fight the vampires and demons of the world since pretty much forever. When one dies another is called."

Xander saw the looks on some of their faces and spoke quickly to cut them off. "And don't go on a moral tangent about teenagers being drafted to fight demons from the pits of hell. I don't like it either, but Slayers have been around a lot longer than superheroes and the world is still spinning. Besides, how many of you have teenaged sidekicks?"

"And, from what I hear, there's a whole lot more than one these days," Zatanna added when it didn't look like Xander would say more.

Reluctantly Xander nodded. He hadn't really wanted to get too much into the Slayers, but it looked like he was being put on the spot. He wouldn't have even mentioned Slayers at all if not for Zatanna being there. "In the final battle with The First we had a bunch of Potential Slayers with us. We did a spell that made them all actual Slayers, but it was farther reaching than we thought. As in worldwide far."

Seeing he had their undivided attention he went on. "Slayers are literally built on a spiritual level to fight demons. It's instinct. They're drawn to the fight, whether they concously admit it or not, and demons are drawn to them. If only for the prestige that comes with killing a Slayer.

"We did this to these girls. We put them in this life. It wasn't our intention, but it still happened." Xander closed his eye and took a deep breath. When he looked at them again there was only resolve left in his single eye. "It's our responsibility to find these girls and make sure they can survive. We have facilities to train them, or even go to them if we need to. Even the ones that have a strong enough will to suppress their instincts and continue with a normal life we help cope with the changes and make sure they know how and where to get help if they need it."

Xander closed his eye again and let out another deep breath. "Look, we're getting off track here."

Black Canary nodded. "You're right. This is something for another time. Right now the important thing is protecting you from Eclipso."

"You think he'll come after me again?"

"It's possible," she told him. "Until we know for sure, the safest place for you to be is here."

"Watchers HQ should be pretty safe," Xander pointed out with a grin. "We have a little experience with the supernatural after all."

Wonder Woman reached over and placed a hand on his forearm in a comforting gesture and spoke calmly. "But not with Eclipso. We do."

"Three days," Xander conceded a little, surprised at how at ease the gesture had made him as she removed her hand. "I'll give it three day before I go. I have responsibilities back home I can't ignore just because I might be in danger. I'm always in danger. If it's not coming after me I'm usually throwing myself recklessly at it."

"I don't think-" Black Lightning started only to be cut off by Batman.

"That's acceptable."

Reluctantly Black Canary nodded. "Now that that's settled, if you could excuse ups Xander? We have some other things to go over and I'm sure you'd enjoy a full tour of The Hall." She finished with a look over at Red Arrow, who stood from his seat.

"I still need to call my friends," Xander said as he got up too. "There probably worried about me by now."

"Here, use my cell," Red Arrow tossed him a phone, red of course, as the two headed for the door.

Xander caught it deftly, even as his stomach gave a loud growl.

Red Arrow laughed. "Hungry?"

"I could eat," Xander replied with a sheepish grin.

"C'mon, I'll show you the kitchen first."

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

Kennedy was bored. She should be out hunting with the other girls, but instead she was stuck at the Scotland headquarters' communication desk trying to scratch under her cast with a pencil. It was bad enough she'd been read the riot act for going after a demon clan half cocked and without backup, but the last minute save by Andrew and a pack of summoned Hellhounds was just embarrassing. Now with her stupid broken leg she was benched for the near future. Even Slayer healing can only mend broken bones so fast.

The phone broke through her mental ranting at the injustice of the world and she checked the display. Kennedy cursed when the number came up blocked. With a resigned sigh she hit answer and spoke the well-rehearsed line into her headset. "Anya Jenkins Foundation. How may I direct your call?"

"Boy Kennedy, if you sounded any deader we'd have to slay you," the voice on the other end said and she could practically see the grin in her mind's eye.

"Xander!" That drew more than a few looks her way as everything else in the room seemed to come to a stop. Not really surprising given that the circumstances. Xander was someone everybody around here was talking about these days.

"That's my name." Smartass.

"Where've you been?" It was only after the looks she got that Kennedy realized how accusing her voice sounded. Much more calmly she added, "You were supposed to call days ago."

"Kennedy?" Xander said pointedly. "Giles please."

"Hang on," she told him and handed her headset to the older man already hovering over her shoulder.

"Xander?" he questioned.

Kennedy could almost see the tension roll off Giles' face as he heard the voice on the other end of the line for himself. He had a slight smile on his face when he answered whatever question Xander had apparently asked. "Other than being about to have a locator spell done?"

No kidding. They better send someone to tell Willow they didn't need one anymore.

She watched as Giles rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You dropped off the face of the Earth Xander. Things come up, especially with you, so after you didn't call I put it out of mind. After three days, however, I-we began to worry."

No one in the room missed the slip. No one would say anything either.

"What's going on Xander?" After a moment Giles let out an impatient breath. "Xander," he spoke pointedly.

By now most of the room had gotten back down to business, but Giles' exclaimed of "The Justice League?!" drew everyone's attention back to the call, and one Slayer to hand several bills to another.

Kennedy, along with the rest of the room, watched as Giles took his glasses out of his pocket. Lately he had taken to wearing contacts but still kept his glasses handy just in case. Right now it seemed like he was trying to polish through the glass. "Eclipso? As in the 'Wrath of God' Eclipso?"

A few of the more research oriented people looked at each other uneasily and Kennedy couldn't help but feel like the other shoe just dropped. It wasn't doing much for anybody else either.

"It's never easy is it," Giles said into the headset but he didn't wait for an answer. It wasn't a question anyway. "Is that why you were trying to get a hold of me?"

He listened for moment before he just shook his head and gave a humourless laugh. "Something else? Why do I have the suspicion that this will at least match 'attacked by the Wrath of God'?"

Whatever Xander said brought a slight grin to Giles' face. "Well, what is it then?"

The same thought was running through everyone else's minds. A moment later Giles nodded to the air. "Alright," he said, all traces of humour gone. "I'll get started on researching Eclipso and see you when you get home."

Giles brought a hand up to hit the disconnect button on the headset only to suddenly stop just as his finger brushed it. "Ramsey Carlington is already on his way," Kennedy heard him say and she realized what must have happened. Xander must have been worried about the Slayer he had been training. Nobody had told him that someone had already been on their way to Africa. "I had sent him out to relieve you. He should meet up with her today, tomorrow at the latest."

She watched as Giles nodded again. "Yes, I've wanted to talk with you about something for a while now, but was willing to wait until your six month stint in Africa was done.

Giles gave a small laugh, this time with humour in it. "Exactly."

The conversation seemed to be winding down, so again people started to return to their work. When Giles spoke next it was only a short and simple "I trust him." Obviously Xander had wanted to know about Ramsey.

Whatever Xander responded with brought a full smile to Giles' face. "I'll speak with you when you arrive Xander."

Almost as if a switch was flicked off, the smile dropped from Giles' lips and he cut off the call. He placed the headset on the desk and turned to leave the room, most likely for the library. As he walked away Kennedy could have sworn she heard him mutter something along the lines of 'still a bloody teenager'.

That just made her curious as to what Xander's parting shot had been.

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

Red Arrow was stunned. He knew Zatanna said the guy was going to be hungry, but he hadn't been prepared for just how much he could pack away. Xander had already been through three sandwiches and several packs of Twinkies he had been way too happy to find in the short time they had been there.

There had been plenty options for Xander to select from, the Justice League's kitchen was stock with the most tasteless of health food to the most heart attack inducing junk food and everything in between. Silently everyone agreed not to touch the Chocos. Those were for when they found J'onn.

Xander, for his part, was happy with some cold cuts on bread. Quick to make and devoured with fervour. Fortunately he was going through sandwich number four at a much more normal pace.

The cell phone glued to his ear probably helped with that though. Apparently he had enough manners not to eat and talk.

So far Roy had gleaned a fair bit from the side of the conversation he could hear. It didn't take a particularly observant person to see that Xander wasn't all that fond of this Kennedy person. On the flips side, he could tell right away that whoever this Giles was Xander trusted and respected him. His demeanour had completely changed from one person to the next, from slight annoyance to companionable ease.

"No, the 'Wrath of God' thing happened after," Xander said, somehow managing to make the offhand comment sound anything but as he stared longing at the last Twinkie. "I actually called for something else before."

Roy watched as Xander took his eyes away from the snack cake and grinned. "I'd like to say keen perception, but you just know me too well."

Xander paused as he listened to what Roy figured the obvious question would be. "I'd rather talk about it in person. I'll be back in Scotland as soon as I can."

Relief flashed over his features. It was brief, but Roy knew it had been there. He would bet that Xander had expected an argument, or at least some insistence, instead of the acceptance he got.

"Oh, Giles?" Xander said a bit louder than was strictly necessary. "Can you send someone to check on Alba? I sort of disappeared on her and want to make sure she's ok."

A moment later Xander had his brow creased in confusion. "You sent somebody to relieve me?"

Roy was curious what the other man said after that. Xander got a sheepish look as understanding dawned in his eyes. "Then I went off to train another Slayer."

The sheepish look didn't stay long and Roy saw him grow more serious than he thought the one-eyed man had in him. "I haven't met Ramsey, he a good guy?" There was something in Xander's face that told Roy he would be on the next flight to Africa if he didn't like the answer. Some tension left his shoulders and Xander gave a firm nod. "Good enough for me."

Suddenly Xander got a positively evil grin and his eyes lit with mischief. "Oh, Giles? One more thing. How'd your date go, you get lucky?"

Xander flipped the phone shut and met Roy's eyes still grinning. "He hung up on me! Can you believe that?!"

Roy grinned back. He couldn't help but like the guy. Maybe it was because he could see a lot of Dick in him. A decent, fun guy with an edge to him. If everything turned out well, maybe he'd introduce them. They'd probably get along famously, or end up being too alike to stand each other. Either way it was bound to be fun.

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

"So," Dinah said moments after the door slid shut. "What do you think?"

Think? Clark still didn't know what to think. Throughout their talk with Xander he had made an effort to take in information and process it later. He had tried not to talk much and when he did he considered what he said very carefully. Clark knew that if he thought on it too hard or spoke too much he would break his promise to Bruce.

Still, from what little he'd seen so far, Clark found he liked Xander. That much he was sure of, even if he didn't know what to make of the situation as a whole.

"He was holding back," Jefferson was the first to speak up, getting straight to the point. "Or, at least he would have if Zatanna hadn't called him on it."

Zatanna shifted uncomfortably even as Bruce gave Jeff a pointed look. "Nothing relevant. Simply protecting his own."

"From the Justice League?"

"From anyone."

It was all Clark could do to keep his eyebrows from shooting up. Most wouldn't notice it but he knew Bruce long enough and well enough to pick it up on it. It would appear that despite, or perhaps because of, their stare down, Xander Harris had made a good first impression on the Dark Knight.

From the way Diana straightened beside him, Clark could tell she noticed too.

"Besides," Bruce continued and turned his gaze to Zatanna. "He wasn't the only one holding back. You know more than you let on before."

It wasn't a question and Zatanna, for her part, didn't seem the least bit cowed or guilty as she stared right back. "I do know a fair bit more about Sunnydale. The end of the world was a regular threat there. Anyone in the magical community worth their talent kept an eye out for any information coming out of there. The people protecting that place were doing good work. I have no intention of giving out their names unless absolutely necessary. It isn't."

Zatanna sent them all a pointed look but Clark noticed the look she gave Bruce was particularly loaded. "After all, I wouldn't give anyone else's identities away."

Bruce nodded his acquiesce to her point, but Zatanna had already moved on.

"I will tell you this since you already know anyway, Xander was one of the protectors I'm talking about. Do the math though. Eight years would put him at fifteen when he started fighting vampires and demons from hell on a nightly basis. From what I've heard, in all those years he was the only one of his group who never faltered. It was the guy who, at the time, had no powers or apparent training that never strayed."

Zatanna paused to let that sink in. Clark couldn't keep his chest from swelling with pride as she described a little of what she knew about Xander. Then it hit him just what he had been fighting all these years and the risks he must have taken and his stomach dropped instead.

"Heck," Zatanna continued. "If what I heard is true, that guy has even saved the world on his own without throwing so much as a single punch.

"How did he do it then?"

"I know this coven over in Devon," she told them. "A while back they were treating a witch from Sunnydale for magic addiction. Her lover had been killed and she wet off the deep end. After killing the shooter she went on to steal a great deal of knowledge and power and raised a temple to use as a catalyst to destroy the world."

Jefferson shook his head. "She sounds like a real piece of work."

Zatanna glared at him. "She was an angry, hurt and grieving young woman who just wanted the pain to stop."

"There are better ways."

"I'm not defending her. I'm just pointing out that none of us, including me, know the whole story. We shouldn't judge." She rolled her eyes. "Besides, it's not like a grieving superhuman has never taken things to extremes before."

Clark noticed that Hal shifted uncomfortably at that. He knew that despite Parallax being revealed as a separate entity there were still days that Hal wondered just how much of what he had done was it and how much was all him. As far as Clark was concerned Hal Jordan had more than proven he was on the side of angels since returning from the dead.

"Anyway," Zatanna said bringing his attention back to her. "Xander went up to the temple and confronted her. He didn't fight her; he just stood between her and the temple. This guy saved the world just by telling someone that, no matter what they did, he still cared. That he loved her."

"Wow," Firestorm summed up what was going through their heads. "That's, well, that's something."

Dinah nodded. "I know what I think, and I think it's safe it's the general consensus as well. Whatever is happening to Mr. Harris, I doubt he knows anymore that we do. If that much."

Clark could sense Diana's stare and turned to meet her eyes. He didn't need to ask what she was thinking; they knew each other too well and too long for that. Besides, he was thinking the same thing. He still nodded though.

"We're going to talk to him," Diana told them and no one had to ask who the 'we' was. There it was. Decision made. If nothing else, this involved him and he deserved to know what was going on. Not to mention who was involved. Maybe they would get lucky and Xander's group would be able to find some answers.

"After John's procedure, of course," Diana finished.

"Speaking of." Dinah turned to Batman. "Is everything ready?"

"The final adjustments are being made as we speak. After that it will be up to Zatanna to transfer his soul."

Dinah turned to the holographic Red Tornado with a smile. "So Reddy, are you ready to have body again."

Whatever he was going to say was cut off as Bruce stood. "Dr. Irons just contacted me. He needs assistance in the auxiliary robotics lab."

He left without another word.

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

When Batman got to the lab he found John Henry Irons examining Red Tornado's previous android body. A body that seemed to be completely repaired. That was odd since it was supposed to have been damaged beyond the abilities of its self-repair function.

"Looks like Reddy's got a choice of bodies," John said but didn't seem surprised when he saw Batman shake his head.

"No, something else is going on here," Batman told him as he leaned in closer. A device in his hands fed data to the nearby computers at an astonishing rate. "Red Tornado complained about a 'secondary program' running in his body."

John looked over at him curiously. "You think that's what kick-started his self-repair function?"

"It's a reasonable working hypothesis. It gives us a place to st-" He never got a chance to finish as Red Tornado's hand shot up and took a vice grip around his throat.

"_Situation: discovery imminent,"_ a mechanical voice echoed through the room. _"Solution: pre-emptive attack."_

Even as he struggled in the android's hold and oxygen began to become an issue Bruce's mind was putting the pieces together. Amazo went berserk in Red Tornado's body. Red Tornado had been complaining about a 'secondary program'. Amazo was still in Red Tornado's body.

"Let him go," John demanded as he hefted a large laser cannon and took aim. It wouldn't do much, if any, damage to the android, but Bruce didn't think that was his plan.

Amazo didn't even look at him. _"Threat assessment: minimal."_

John fired, hitting just below the wrist joint. It didn't so much as scratch the android but it did loosen its grip enough for Batman to slip out and fall to the floor.

_"Reassessing threat: moderate. Solution: neutralize."_

As Amazo used Flash's speed to throw John into a wall before he could get another shot off, Bruce thought through what he knew about it. It could use the powers and skills of Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and even himself and could duplicate the powers of any other superhuman it came across.

With Irons down Amazo was coming back for him, but Batman didn't move. Amazo had taken apart the entire League more than once. He knew he couldn't take the android on alone. Just as Amazo was within arms reach Batman let a batarang fly towards the alarm.

_"Strategy: call for aid,"_ he heard Amazo say as it hit him with a viscous roundhouse and blasted the batarang out of the air. _"Solution: prevent."_

His world went dark before he hit the floor.

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

Xander enjoyed the tour of the Hall of Justice, the Justice League's DC Headquarters. The full tour, not the one the rest of the public got. He was sure a lot of that was thanks to his tour guide since he had never really gotten in that sort of thing before.

Red Arrow had a sense of humour that put him at ease despite the unsettling situation he had found himself in. The archer had plenty of stories to tell, edited he was sure, and Xander found himself having a lot more fun than he had expected. He came to one undeniable conclusion: he really needed some more guy friends. At least, ones around his own age.

After the tour they collected Xander's things from the med bay and Red Arrow showed him to a more comfortable room that he could stay in. Before the archer left Xander convinced him to pull up the League's file on Eclipso on the room's computer.

His eyes haven't left the screen since.

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

Dr. Niles Caulder and Dr. Will Magnus, two of the world's foremost experts in robotics. If they were still conscious they would be horrified to see Amazo standing over the android body they had just finished perfecting. Cosmetically it was a black and red version of the red and yellow Red Tornado design. Internally it was far more advanced.

Amazo placed its hands on either side of the android's head and was pleased to find that it was advanced enough not to need an Amazo chip. That would expedient things considerable. Now it would be a simple process to transfer to the superior body.

"_Downloading Amazo Matrix to new receptacle."_ Without warning the standing android crumbled to the floor and the black and red android stood up. _"Download complete."_

It only took a brief moment for Amazo to reconfigure the androids systems to better suit its matrix. The process had only just finished when the first of the League arrived.

The Kryptonian flew into the android with enough force to take even it through a half dozen concrete and reinforced steel walls before it was able to push back.

_"Threat assessment: significant,"_ Amazo said as it righted itself. _"Solution: Firestorm."_

All of the League had come into contact with Red Tornado's inert body. Amazo hadn't been idle in that time. After all, it had not duplicated the powers of all the members of this latest league.

With the speed of the Flash, Amazo let loose a stream of radiation at Superman. The Man of Steel crumbled to the ground as the red solar energy ate at his powers.

But Superman wasn't the only Leaguer with speed at his disposal. Amazo saw Flash coming his way at mach-9 holding the pointed end of a uranium rod like a lance. With the hero's own speed Amazo sidestepped, turning a potential kill shot into a graze that knitted itself moments later.

Still at super speed, the android struck out with a thousand martial arts blows in less than a second. Most didn't connect, but more than enough made it through to leave Flash bruised and bloodied. The sonic scream that followed nearly burst his eardrums and the lightning left him writhing in agony.

Amazo held the hero up with one hand inspecting the damage it had just caused. This body was performing better than projected. Two of the League were already down and it hadn't yet used half of its capabilities.

Suddenly it was grasping air and Amazo turned. Flash and Superman were standing at the door with the rest of the League, minus Batman. Each and every one looked ready to fight.

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

The walls and floors of the room vibrated and loud bangs echoed in the distance. Xander had been in enough battles to recognize the sounds of one. Someone who had known him from Sunnydale may have thought the first thing he'd do would be run right towards the source. He didn't.

Xander sat in the desk chair debating on what he should do. He had been trying his best to grow from his 'rush in headlong' days. This was the Justice League after all. Anything they came up against they could handle. Right? Their type of battle wasn't exactly something the same as the ones he was used to. Would he be a help if he went out there, or a hinderance?

He glanced out the window as the power went out and was surprised to see the staff from the public areas and the tourists suddenly appear in the parking lot. Magic. Xander had seen that trick enough times to know it was done with magic and not technology. Zatanna's work presumably.

The people looked confused, justifiably, and many of them looked scared. More than a few young children clung to their parents in tears.

That did it.

Xander was out of his chair and running down the hall at top speeds. He didn't notice that he was moving faster than any normal human being had a right to.

It was easy enough to follow the sounds to their source, at least until they suddenly cut out. He hoped that meant the battle was over and there would be nothing to do when he got there. Who was he kidding, when had he ever been that lucky?

Even without the sounds Xander still found his way. By then he was close enough to follow the debris. When he stepped through a large hole in a wall Xander's heart nearly stopped at what he saw.

Most of the League lay strewn across the floor and a rather scary looking thing had Vixen by the throat. Xander didn't think he just acted. He'd work on that whole 'don't rush in' thing later. Hopefully.

Xander fist hit the thing's head with all the force he could muster. Its head had snapped back but it otherwise seemed unbothered. Xander, on the other hand, screamed in pain and unconsciously cradled his throbbing hand close to his chest.

The thing turned its glowing green gaze to him. _"Assessing threat: unable to analyze. Solution: immediate termination."_

"Oh crap," Xander muttered as it let Vixen drop and turned on him.

The thing moved fast, faster than Xander had ever seen anything move. Then he was the one being held off the ground by their throat.

An arrow with a strange tip exploded on the thing's arm but its grip didn't loosen in the slightest. "Let him go, Amazo!" Red Arrow yelled and let a trio of arrows fly.

A shield of emerald energy appeared between the archer and this Amazo and the explosive arrows detonated harmlessly on it. It didn't matter. That was just the distraction anyway.

Hawkgirl and Black Canary had made it to their feet and charged in. Xander's oxygen deprived mind admired the wicked looking axe the former held. Amazo simply tossed him aside in the face of the greater threat.

Or, it had seemed like a simple gesture anyway. To Xander it felt like he was doing the Indy 500 without the benefit of the racecar. He was going backwards, so he couldn't see the wall he knew was coming, but he sure as hell felt it.

His back exploded in pain as he went through the strong wall that a month ago would have left him a red smear against it. The sudden brightness of sunlight burned his eyes and his body twisted in midair as he sailed a fair distance from the building. The parking lot was still full of people and cars and Xander found himself heading straight for a blue Chevy Cavalier near the back.

As he covered his face with his hands he though that at least he wasn't going to take a nice car with him when he died.

It was a full minute before Xander realized there was no impact. Slowly he lowered his arms and opened his eyes to find himself hovering a few inches above the car's windshield staring into the wide eyes of the pretty redhead behind the wheel.

Then he fell the last three inches and dented the hood with his face.

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

The first thing John Irons had done when he had woken up was to try and rouse Batman. He got a shock from the Dark Knight's booby-trapped costume for his trouble. Still the shock had been enough to get Batman up and on his feet, so he at least got the job done.

Batman had led him to the Slideways almost as soon as he was back on his feet. They had spent the time since reprogramming the teleporting gateway. He knew the plan, and it was a good plan, but the more he heard the sounds of the fight going on at the other side of the building the harder he found it to concentrate.

"Let's go," John growled when he finally had enough.

Batman left the keyboard his fingers had been flying on to intercept him. "There's nothing we can do against Amazo they can't."

"Bull! We can help!"

"Down here, we can help. Up there, we're in the way."

"Batman-" John started but never got to voice his argument.

"Their the best in the world. Let them do their job." Batman held a screwdriver out to him. "Let's do ours."

And damn if John could argue with that. He knew the other man was right. Maybe if he had his Steel armour he could make the difference up there. The fact was he didn't have it and it wasn't his hammer they were relying on now, it was his mind.

He went back to the open panel on the side of the Slideways without another word.

**-{SM}--{WW}--{AH}-**

Diana fought with everything she had and more. She was the only one left standing now. It was up to her to stop Amazo.

After the League had gotten their second wind they had hit Amazo with everything they had. Dinah even blew its head apart with her canary cry at point blank range.

It just grew a new one.

That's when Amazo had started dishing out the real punishment to the League. Clark had tried to use his own body to shield them from the brunt of it. It probably saved more than a few of their lives. Unfortunately, even Clark could only take so much, especially when up against someone who can easily exploit his weaknesses.

She didn't know what Amazo had done exactly when it saw that Clark stood up to the blast of heat vision it sent at them. Diana just heard it say something about shifting frequencies before Clark cried out in pain.

That was far from her mind right now though.

As she fought Diana didn't think about Clark and her teammates as they fell. She didn't wonder whether they would get back up. The only thing on her mind as she dodged a blast of emerald energy was Xander.

When the Cloaked Woman had caused him so much pain she had only vague intuition to go on and that had been strong enough to nearly break her control. When she saw this monstrosity choking the life out of him before throwing him carelessly through a wall she knew they were connected in some way. She felt it.

A rage had flown through her the likes of which she had never experienced before. Nothing was going to stop her from tearing this thing apart.

She dodged emerald constructs like they weren't there. She deflected heat vision, arrows and batarangs off her bracelets with speed and proficiency that would make any Amazon cheer. She rocked the android with blows that tore the flesh from her hands and ignored the pain of the attacks she couldn't block or dodge.

In the back of her mind Diana processed Bruce's voice over the comm. telling her to get Amazo to the Slideways. She rose into the air and made a show of dodging the arrows from the construct bow Amazo had made. When she had built up enough speed Diana dropped the act and charged.

Before Amazo could react Diana slammed into it and her momentum carried them down through twelve floors of reinforced steel and concrete straight into the room that housed the Slideways. Three feet, that's all there was between Amazo and the active portal.

It may as well have been three miles.

Amazo had righted itself and dug in. Diana pushed on their locked hands with all her might but it wasn't enough. The android was stronger that both her and Clark put together and easily pushed her wrists back and sent her to her knees.

Then Amazo's hand locked around her throat. It apparently had a thing with choking the life out of people. Even as oxygen became an issue Diana glare up defiantly.

In her peripheral vision she saw Batman and John try to free her only to be batted aside. She paid them no mind. Her gaze never faulted. If she died today she was damn well going to win the battle of wills!

She heard Zatanna arrive, but it really didn't register until Diana heard her say, "Paer eht dniwlrihw."

An impossible wind filled the room and a tornado like funnel of air, tinged red, positioned itself between her and Amazo. The grip was suddenly gone from her throat and Diana sucked in a breath of air.

"_Situation: unable to counteract force being applied to this unit,"_ Amazo said as it blown off its feet. As it disappeared through the Slideways it finished. _"Threat: dire."_

As the Slideways shut down Diana stared at the red tornado still whirling off to the side of the room. Then realization hit her. It wasn't _a_ red tornado it _was_ Red Tornado. Zatanna had taken his soul out of the computer after all; she just hadn't put it back in anything yet.

Zatanna just confirmed things as she helped Batman back to his feet. "Welcome back. Reddy pushed Amazo through the teleporter."

Diana nodded. At least it gave them time. "We can regroup and prepare ourselves before he gets back."

"He ain't coming back," Irons told her with a grin.

"Our satellite's only a few thousand miles away," Diana pointed out. "With Superman's powers he could be back in a matter of minutes."

Bruce shook his head. "Dr. Irons and I made a few adjustments to the Slideways. It doesn't lead to the Watchtower anymore."

Zatanna smacked him on the shoulder when he stopped there. "Okay, enough suspense. Tell us where you sent him."

"600 light-years away, deep in the gravity well of Antares."

"The star?" Zatanna asked. "Is that enough to kill him?"

Diana shook her head. "It wouldn't kill Superman."

John still smiled. "Yeah it would. Antares is a red supergiant. Amazo isn't coming back from this one."

She allowed herself a satisfied smirk at that thought before Diana forced herself back to business. "We should see to the others."

"And get this guy back into a body," John added jerking a thumb back at the whirlwind behind him.

Zatanna smiled. "I think there's still a good one around here somewhere…"

Diana didn't hear what they had said though. She may have said others, but the first one she was looking for was Xander.


End file.
